Students should tie their slogans to one key issue in the candidate’s campaign. Their slogans should be short, memorable, and linked to common values that will generate a favorable response from voters.

PROCESS:

Compose a list of advertising slogans, including some that students are certain to recognize and others that they may not. Share the list with the class. Challenge students to identify the company or product associated with each.

Inform the class that slogans are a type of advertising. They are a catchy way to grab people’s attention. But slogans also send a message about a product. Their purpose, just like all advertising, is to sell that message to consumers.

Analyze a few of the slogans you shared. Brainstorm ideas about how each slogan grabs people’s interest. Challenge students to identify the message each one is trying to sell.

Then point out to the class that slogans have long been a part of politics. Review the history of slogans in presidential campaigns. Examine several of these historic slogans to identify how they connect with the central message of each candidate’s campaign.

Review an article explaining how to create a compelling political slogan. If you like, also explore reasons why some campaign slogans fail.

Instruct students to select one candidate running for office in an upcoming election. Challenge them to create a slogan that will entice people to elect that candidate.

ASSESSMENT:

Students should tie their slogans to one key issue in the candidate’s campaign. Their slogans should be short, memorable, and linked to common values that will generate a favorable response from voters.

CUSTOMIZE THE LESSON:

Grades 3–4:
Encourage students to identify candidates they know who are currently running for election. As a class, select one candidate and conduct research to learn more about his or her views. Divide the class into small groups. Challenge each group to create an effective slogan for the candidate’s campaign.

Grades 5–6:
Encourage students to identify candidates they know who are currently running for election. Divide the class into small groups. Encourage each group to select one candidate and conduct research to learn more about his or her views. Challenge them to create an effective slogan for the candidate’s campaign.

Grades 7–8:
As a class, identify candidates running for an upcoming election. Then assign each student a partner. Encourage partners to conduct research to learn about the views of two candidates running for the same office. Instruct them to then select their favorite candidate. Challenge them to create a slogan that will help that candidate win the election.

Grades 9–10:
Assign each student a partner. Instruct pairs to conduct research to learn about the view of each of the candidates running for the same office in an upcoming election. Tell students to select the candidate they like the most. Challenge them to create a slogan that will help that candidate win the election.